Marriage Policy at Cornerstone Church

 

Due to the time demands of shepherding the Cornerstone Church family, our pastor only conducts premarital counseling and performs wedding ceremonies for members of Cornerstone Church and their families.

                  

An Overview of the Premarital Consultation Program

Every new couple embarking on this great adventure called marriage needs a strategy for success, a strategy which is based on biblical convictions and that relies on the power of the Holy Spirit. A magnificent marriage is more than wishful thinking, it can and should be the experience of every husband and wife willing to work together in following God’s plan for them as a couple.

Marriage magazine discovered that one out of every three marriages ends in divorce, but when the couple is married in a church ceremony, and they attend church regularly, and they pray and read the Bible together, then the chances for divorce drop to one out of 1,105.

Therefore, the goal of the Christian premarital training is to give a couple the spiritual and practical resources needed to help the future husband and wife prepare for a fulfilling, lasting, and God glorifying marriage.

 

With that goal in mind, the training sessions are designed…

 

¨      To foster communication between the two of you on key marital topics.

 ¨      To study the biblical principles pertaining to God’s design for marriage. Such as…

~ The purpose for marriage,

~ The biblical roles & responsibilities of husbands & wives

                                                                                                                                                 

¨      To equip you with practical helps to assist you with the most common marital challenges. In areas such as…

~ Finances

~ Sexual intimacy

~ Communication problems

~ In-law conflict   

 

¨      To assess your “readiness” for marriage to one another. By examining such things as…

~ Spiritual compatibility

~ Core values

~ Life goals

 

¨      Develop a rich and authentic relationship between the two of you and I, so that the most helpful pastoral care may be provided during the counseling sessions, on your wedding day, and after the wedding for years to come.

 

¨      Plan the wedding ceremony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time Commitment  

There will typically be six sessions and one optional session approximately nine months after the wedding. The sessions will last 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours each and be scheduled two weeks apart (unless extenuating circumstances are involved). In order to keep this time-table, the counseling should begin five months prior to the wedding date and end one month prior to the wedding ceremony.

 Assignments

Reading and other homework will be assigned from the Preparing for Marriage workbook. Each session will begin with a review of the homework assignment. The assignments are designed to help assess the current state of your relationship, your current expectations and values, and the probable areas of potential conflict. At times, other additional assignments will be given. Assignments need to be complete in order for the session to take place.

 Premarital Counseling Cost

• You’ll be using a pair of Preparing for Marriage workbooks, which cost $20 for the pair and can be purchased through the church office.
• There will be a $150.00 fee for the six training and counseling sessions.
• If it’s your desire to use the church building, please see building use policy and application form. 

Premarital Counseling Agreement

There is a Premarital Counseling Covenant consisting of four biblically-based commitments that I will ask you to make before we begin with the premarital counseling and training. At the first meeting we will discuss this premarital counseling covenant.

 

Preparing for the First Session

What follows is a questionnaire which will help the pastor to get to know you better and minister to you more effectively. Please mail the completed form with a check for $150.00 payable to Cornerstone Church. You should then expect to receive a call to discuss the pastor’s availability. If pastor or other Cornerstone minister is not available to perform the premarital counseling the fee payment will be returned to you. If you have any questions you may call the church office (262-377-9300).

Please note, if you intend to use Cornerstone’s sanctuary, you’ll also need to complete the Building Use Application and enclose a separate check to cover the building use fee. If the sanctuary is not available the fee payment will be returned to you.

May you experience God’s richest blessing during your engagement and may this time spent in preparing for a successful marriage further enrich the love you share for one another.

 

Pastor Joe Stillone